Home buying cheaper in St. John's — unless you want a condo

A survey of home prices by the real estate company Royal LePage shows that while most housing prices dropped in St. John's during the first quarter of 2017, condominiums are holding their value.

The numbers released Tuesday show that the median price of a condominium increased by 6.5 per cent to $297,800.

According to the Royal LePage survey, the median price of a bungalow dropped by four per cent to $300,127.

The median price of a two-storey home dropped slightly, by 0.8 per cent, to $370,527.

Overall, the aggregate price of a home has decreased 1.9 per cent to $328,485 from the same time last year.

"An economic slowdown has impacted consumer confidence in the St. John's real estate market, moving many would-be buyers to the sidelines as they wait for conditions to improve," said realtor Glenn Larkin in a news release.

"Though we may see a slight increase in sales activity as the spring market gets underway, until the region's economic prospects improve, market factors and price growth will remain constrained."

Nationally, it's a different picture with the price of a home increasing 12.6 per cent year-over-year to $574,575 — with what Royal LePage calls a "torrrid" market in the Toronto region accounting for half that growth.